My last post was admittedly a bit of a downer, despite my attempt—which may or may not have been evident—to put a positive spin on my tooth's decision to become infected in the middle of my break from my everyday reality (teeth have tiny brains with the ability to perform such executive functions, right?). But … Continue reading Putzing around England: Penultimate Trip Update
My brain and body have seen fit to remind me this week that just because I'm on vacation from many aspects of my regular life doesn't mean that I left my health issues at home when I hopped on a plane and transversed the Atlantic. Seizure-wise, things have, thankfully, been pretty chill, and I'm supremely … Continue reading Obsessed and Abscessed: OCD and Accidental Dental Tourism
As indicated by the title of this post, I spent this past weekend in London, where I was reunited with three old friends: one of my university pals, who moved to the UK years ago; the British Library, where I've done a significant amount of research; and the Victoria and Albert, my all-time favourite museum. … Continue reading Weekend in London: Happy Reunions and Marx’s Tomb (Trip Update #2!)
I arrived at Gatwick late Monday morning and in Cambridge several hours later. All aspects of the voyage, from arriving at the airport in Toronto to getting off the train, went relatively smoothly, save my seatmate on the Reykjavik–London portion of my flight, who didn't seem to understand the concept of "personal space," despite my … Continue reading Marks & Sparks and Mrs. Chippy: My Trip Thus Far
It was only around 5 p.m. last Tuesday night that I remembered that I was required to fast the morning of the PET scan that I had scheduled for noon the next day. I know plenty of people who're able to happily live without food for hours after waking up and manage to do so while … Continue reading Hanxiety, Medical Souvenir/Halloween Costume, PET, New Pet
An e-mail from a regular reader (hi, K!) after my last post, an entry that had nothing to do with the dysfunctional world of my neurons, reminded me that an update on the epilepsy front was long overdue. I blame my silence in this regard on a few factors: perhaps most importantly, "epilepsy fatigue" has … Continue reading My Brain Today
My doctor called me on Friday to communicate the results of my recent bone scan. "The news isn't good," she said, somewhat dramatically, I thought, though my perception may have been affected by the fact that I picked up the phone while in the middle of an especially emotional scene in an episode of Nashville, my … Continue reading When Body Meets Soul
The day after my thesis defence was scheduled, my supervisor sent me an e-mail to tell me that my thesis defence had been scheduled (I had been cc'ed on the e-mail from my department's business officer, so I was well aware). In a message that was so nice it made me cry—OK, I'm a little … Continue reading “Relaxing”
Something weird happened between the time I started composing this blog entry and the time I'm getting around to posting it. I'll start with what I meant to finish writing a few days ago but, for lack of a better excuse, didn't, probably because I was too busy eating Tim Horton's chicken noodle soup and … Continue reading That Christmas Feeling
Well, this is it: my fourth, and final, weekend in the epilepsy monitoring unit. One of the best parts about being here has been having a medication holiday. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I'm really not a fan of Topamax, one of the anticonvulsants that I take. Since … Continue reading Oh Hey There, Old Friend
